Collect Cisco switch logs

Parser Version: 27.0

Supported in:

This document explains how to ingest Cisco switch logs to Google Security Operations using the Bindplane agent.

Cisco switches generate syslog messages for port state changes, spanning tree events, ACL matches, authentication, and system operations. The parser extracts fields using grok patterns and maps them to the Unified Data Model (UDM).

Before you begin

Make sure you have the following prerequisites:

  • A Google SecOps instance
  • Windows Server 2016 or later, or Linux host with systemd
  • Network connectivity between the Bindplane agent and the Cisco switch
  • If running behind a proxy, ensure firewall ports are open per the Bindplane agent requirements
  • Privileged access to the Cisco switch CLI

Get Google SecOps ingestion authentication file

  1. Sign in to the Google SecOps console.
  2. Go to SIEM Settings > Collection Agents.
  3. Download the Ingestion Authentication File
  4. Save the file securely on the system where the Bindplane agent will be installed.

Get Google SecOps customer ID

  1. Sign in to the Google SecOps console.
  2. Go to SIEM Settings > Profile.
  3. Copy and save the Customer ID from the Organization Details section.

Install the Bindplane agent

Install the Bindplane agent on your Windows or Linux operating system according to the following instructions.

Windows installation

  1. Open Command Prompt or PowerShell as an administrator.
  2. Run the following command:

    msiexec /i "https://github.com/observIQ/bindplane-agent/releases/latest/download/observiq-otel-collector.msi" /quiet
    
  3. Wait for the installation to complete.

  4. Verify the installation by running:

    sc query observiq-otel-collector
    

    The service should show as RUNNING.

Linux installation

  1. Open a terminal with root or sudo privileges.
  2. Run the following command:

    sudo sh -c "$(curl -fsSlL https://github.com/observiq/bindplane-agent/releases/latest/download/install_unix.sh)" install_unix.sh
    
  3. Wait for the installation to complete.

  4. Verify the installation by running:

    sudo systemctl status observiq-otel-collector
    

    The service should show as active (running).

Additional installation resources

For additional installation options and troubleshooting, see Bindplane agent installation guide.

Configure the Bindplane agent to ingest syslog and send to Google SecOps

Locate the configuration file

  • Linux:

    sudo nano /etc/bindplane-agent/config.yaml
    
  • Windows:

    notepad "C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\config.yaml"
    

Edit the configuration file

  • Replace the entire contents of config.yaml with the following configuration:

    receivers:
        udplog:
            listen_address: "0.0.0.0:514"
    
    exporters:
        chronicle/cisco_switch:
            compression: gzip
            creds_file_path: '/etc/bindplane-agent/ingestion-auth.json'
            customer_id: '<customer_id>'
            endpoint: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
            log_type: CISCO_SWITCH
            raw_log_field: body
    
    service:
        pipelines:
            logs/cisco_switch_to_chronicle:
                receivers:
                    - udplog
                exporters:
                    - chronicle/cisco_switch
    

Configuration parameters

Replace the following placeholders:

  • Receiver configuration:

    • listen_address: IP address and port to listen on:
      • 0.0.0.0 to listen on all interfaces (recommended)
      • Port 514 is the standard syslog port (requires root on Linux; use 1514 for non-root)
  • Exporter configuration:

    • creds_file_path: Full path to ingestion authentication file:
      • Linux: /etc/bindplane-agent/ingestion-auth.json
      • Windows: C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\ingestion-auth.json
    • customer_id: Customer ID copied from the Google SecOps console
    • endpoint: Regional endpoint URL:
      • US: malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
      • Europe: europe-malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
      • Asia: asia-southeast1-malachiteingestion-pa.googleapis.com
      • See Regional Endpoints for complete list

Save the configuration file

  • After editing, save the file:
    • Linux: Press Ctrl+O, then Enter, then Ctrl+X
    • Windows: Click File > Save

Restart the Bindplane agent to apply the changes

  • To restart the Bindplane agent in Linux, run the following command:

    sudo systemctl restart observiq-otel-collector
    
    1. Verify the service is running:

      ```bash
      sudo systemctl status observiq-otel-collector
      ```
      
    2. Check logs for errors:

      ```bash
      sudo journalctl -u observiq-otel-collector -f
      ```
      
  • To restart the Bindplane agent in Windows, choose one of the following options:

    • Command Prompt or PowerShell as administrator:

      net stop observiq-otel-collector && net start observiq-otel-collector
      
    • Services console:

      1. Press Win+R, type services.msc, and press Enter.
      2. Locate observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector.
      3. Right-click and select Restart.
      4. Verify the service is running:

        sc query observiq-otel-collector
        
      5. Check logs for errors:

        type "C:\Program Files\observIQ OpenTelemetry Collector\log\collector.log"
        

Configure syslog on a Cisco switch

  1. Sign in to the Cisco Switch.
  2. Escalate privileges:

    enable
    
  3. Switch to configuration mode:

    conf t
    
  4. Configure syslog:

    logging host <BINDPLANE_IP> transport <tcp/udp> port <PORT>
    logging source-interface <INTERFACE>
    
    • Replace <BINDPLANE_IP> with the Bindplane agent IP address.
    • Replace <tcp/udp> with the configured listening protocol (for example, udp).
    • Replace <INTERFACE> with the Cisco interface ID.
  5. Set the priority level:

    logging trap Informational
    logging console Informational
    logging severity Informational
    
  6. Set the syslog facility:

    logging facility local6
    
  7. Enable timestamps:

    service timestamps log datetime
    
  8. Save and exit.

  9. Save the configuration to survive restart:

    copy running-config startup-config
    

UDM mapping table

Log field UDM mapping Logic
action security_result.action_details Value of this field is derived from the action field in the raw log.
day
description metadata.description Value of this field is derived from the description field in the raw log.
description security_result.description Value of this field is derived from the description field in the raw log.
destination_ip target.asset.ip Value of this field is derived from the destination_ip field in the raw log.
destination_ip target.ip Value of this field is derived from the destination_ip field in the raw log.
destination_port target.port Value of this field is derived from the destination_port field in the raw log.
device principal.asset.hostname Value of this field is derived from the device field in the raw log.
device principal.hostname Value of this field is derived from the device field in the raw log.
device target.asset.hostname Value of this field is derived from the device field in the raw log.
device target.hostname Value of this field is derived from the device field in the raw log.
device_ip principal.asset.ip Value of this field is derived from the device_ip field in the raw log.
device_ip principal.ip Value of this field is derived from the device_ip field in the raw log.
device_ip target.asset.ip Value of this field is derived from the device_ip field in the raw log.
device_ip target.ip Value of this field is derived from the device_ip field in the raw log.
facility principal.resource.type Value of this field is derived from the facility field in the raw log.
header_data metadata.product_log_id Value of this field is derived from the header_data field in the raw log.
header_data target.asset.ip Value of this field is derived from the header_data field in the raw log.
header_data target.ip Value of this field is derived from the header_data field in the raw log.
hostname principal.asset.hostname Value of this field is derived from the hostname field in the raw log.
hostname principal.hostname Value of this field is derived from the hostname field in the raw log.
ip principal.asset.ip Value of this field is derived from the ip field in the raw log.
ip principal.ip Value of this field is derived from the ip field in the raw log.
ip_address principal.asset.ip Value of this field is derived from the ip_address field in the raw log.
ip_address principal.ip Value of this field is derived from the ip_address field in the raw log.
ip_protocol network.ip_protocol Value of this field is derived from the ip_protocol field in the raw log.
mac principal.mac Value of this field is derived from the mac field in the raw log.
mnemonic network.dhcp.opcode Value of this field is derived from the mnemonic field in the raw log.
mnemonic metadata.product_event_type Value of this field is derived from the mnemonic field in the raw log.
month
p_ip principal.asset.ip Value of this field is derived from the p_ip field in the raw log.
p_ip principal.ip Value of this field is derived from the p_ip field in the raw log.
port target.port Value of this field is derived from the port field in the raw log.
priority
protocol network.ip_protocol Value of this field is derived from the protocol field in the raw log.
reason
rule security_result.rule_id Value of this field is derived from the rule field in the raw log.
sec_result_action security_result.action Value of this field is derived from the sec_result_action field in the raw log.
severity
source principal.asset.ip Value of this field is derived from the source field in the raw log.
source principal.ip Value of this field is derived from the source field in the raw log.
source_ip network.dhcp.ciaddr Value of this field is derived from the source_ip field in the raw log.
source_ip principal.asset.ip Value of this field is derived from the source_ip field in the raw log.
source_ip principal.ip Value of this field is derived from the source_ip field in the raw log.
source_mac network.dhcp.chaddr Value of this field is derived from the source_mac field in the raw log.
source_port principal.port Value of this field is derived from the source_port field in the raw log.
summary security_result.summary Value of this field is derived from the summary field in the raw log.
time
timezone
user principal.user.userid Value of this field is derived from the user field in the raw log.
user target.user.userid Value of this field is derived from the user field in the raw log.
when
year
extensions.auth.type MACHINE
metadata.log_type CISCO_SWITCH
metadata.vendor_name Cisco
metadata.product_name Cisco Switch
network.application_protocol DHCP
network.dhcp.type REQUEST
intermediary_ip event.idm.read_only_udm.intermediary.ip and event.idm.read_only_udm.intermediary.asset.ip Mapped from changelog
priority event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields Mapped from changelog
product_log_id event.idm.read_only_udm.metadata.product_log_id Mapped from changelog
_time event.idm.read_only_udm.metadata.collected_timestamp Mapped from changelog
vlan_data event.idm.read_only_udm.intermediary.resource.attribute.labels Mapped from changelog
intermediary_ip event.idm.read_only_udm.intermediary.ip Mapped from changelog
intermediary_ip event.idm.read_only_udm.intermediary.asset.ip Mapped from changelog
time_stamp event.idm.read_only_udm.metadata.event_timestamp Mapped from changelog
process_name event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields Mapped from changelog
switch_id event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields Mapped from changelog
log_seq_num event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields Mapped from changelog
log_seq_num_2 event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields Mapped from changelog
p_interface event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.resource.name Mapped from changelog
audit_session_id event.idm.read_only_udm.security_result.detection_fields Mapped from changelog
mac event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.mac Mapped from changelog
packets event.idm.read_only_udm.network.sent_packets Mapped from changelog
facility event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.resource.resource_subtype Mapped from changelog
seq_num event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields Mapped from changelog
device_hostname event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.hostname and event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.asset.hostname Mapped from changelog
id event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.user.userid Mapped from changelog
seq_num event.idm.read_only_udm.target.user.userid Mapped from changelog
log_message event.idm.read_only_udm.metadata.description Mapped from changelog
syslog_tag event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields Mapped from changelog
syslog_pri event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields Mapped from changelog
appcat event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields Mapped from changelog
applist event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields Mapped from changelog
dstintf event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields Mapped from changelog
dstintfrole event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields Mapped from changelog
mastersrcmac event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields Mapped from changelog
osname event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields Mapped from changelog
poluuid event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields Mapped from changelog
service event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields Mapped from changelog
srchwvendor event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields Mapped from changelog
srcintf event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields Mapped from changelog
srcintfrole event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields Mapped from changelog
srcserver event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields Mapped from changelog
transport event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields Mapped from changelog
trandisp event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields Mapped from changelog
vd event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields Mapped from changelog
vwlid event.idm.read_only_udm.additional.fields Mapped from changelog
devid event.idm.read_only_udm.intermediary.asset.product_object_id Mapped from changelog
devname event.idm.read_only_udm.intermediary.hostname Mapped from changelog
logid event.idm.read_only_udm.metadata.product_log_id Mapped from changelog
subtype event.idm.read_only_udm.network.direction Mapped from changelog
proto event.idm.read_only_udm.network.ip_protocol Mapped from changelog
rcvdbyte event.idm.read_only_udm.network.received_bytes Mapped from changelog
sentbyte event.idm.read_only_udm.network.sent_bytes Mapped from changelog
sentpkt event.idm.read_only_udm.network.sent_packets Mapped from changelog
duration event.idm.read_only_udm.network.session_duration.seconds Mapped from changelog
sessionid event.idm.read_only_udm.network.session_id Mapped from changelog
srcname event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.asset.hostname, event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.hostname Mapped from changelog
srcip event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.asset.ip, event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.ip Mapped from changelog
srcmac event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.asset.mac, event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.mac Mapped from changelog
osname event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.asset.platform_software.platform Mapped from changelog
srcswversion event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.asset.platform_software.platform_version Mapped from changelog
srccountry event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.location.country_or_region Mapped from changelog
transip event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.nat_ip Mapped from changelog
srcport event.idm.read_only_udm.principal.port Mapped from changelog
action event.idm.read_only_udm.security_result.action Mapped from changelog
policyid event.idm.read_only_udm.security_result.rule_id Mapped from changelog
policyname event.idm.read_only_udm.security_result.rule_name Mapped from changelog
policytype event.idm.read_only_udm.security_result.rule_type Mapped from changelog
level event.idm.read_only_udm.security_result.severity Mapped from changelog
action event.idm.read_only_udm.security_result.summary Mapped from changelog
dstip event.idm.read_only_udm.target.asset.ip, event.idm.read_only_udm.target.ip Mapped from changelog
dstcountry event.idm.read_only_udm.target.location.country_or_region Mapped from changelog
dstport event.idm.read_only_udm.target.port Mapped from changelog
device principle.hostname Mapped from changelog
username3 principal.user.userid Mapped from changelog
login_status security_result.summary Mapped from changelog
ecs.version metadata.product_version Mapped from changelog
fileset.name", "flow.locality", "flow.id", "input.type", "netflow.exporter.source_id", and "netflow.exporter.uptime_millis additional.fields Mapped from changelog
network.transport network.ip_protocol Mapped from changelog
netflow.post_nat_source_ipv4_address principal.ip Mapped from changelog
netflow.source_transport_port principal.port Mapped from changelog
network.direction network.direction Mapped from changelog
intermediary_ip intermediary.ip Mapped from changelog
intermediary_hostname intermediary.hostname Mapped from changelog
principal_host principal.hostname Mapped from changelog
src_mac principal.mac Mapped from changelog
eventSummary metadata.product_event_type Mapped from changelog
error_msg security_result.detection_fields Mapped from changelog
pid principal.process.pid Mapped from changelog
srcPort principal.port Mapped from changelog
srcUser principal.user.userid Mapped from changelog
username1 target.user.userid Mapped from changelog
command target.process.command_line Mapped from changelog
PWD target.process.file.full_path Mapped from changelog
node_id", "cluster_id", "exception", "UniqueId", and "app_id additional.fields Mapped from changelog
DEVICE principal.mac Mapped from changelog
SRC principal.ip Mapped from changelog
SPT principal.port Mapped from changelog
DST target.ip Mapped from changelog
DPT target.port Mapped from changelog
ID network.session_id Mapped from changelog
LEN network.session_duration.seconds Mapped from changelog
PROTO network.ip_protocol Mapped from changelog
IN", "OUT", "PHYSIN", "WINDOW", "RES, "TOS", "PREC", "TTL" ,"URGP", "MAC", "radio", "vap", "auth_type", "sugg_band", "ssid_id", "ssid_profile_name" and "protocol additional.fields Mapped from changelog
client_mac principal.mac Mapped from changelog
aid network.session_id Mapped from changelog
rssi intermediary.asset.product_object_id Mapped from changelog
channel security_result.detection_fields Mapped from changelog
eventSummary", "dhcp_ip", "client_mac", "aid" and "ip_src metadata.product_event_type Mapped from changelog
mac", "src", "sport", "dst", "dport", "action", "protocol", "url" and "signature principal.mac Mapped from changelog
metadata.event_type" and "extensions.auth.type USER_LOGIN Mapped from changelog
eventSummary", "aid", "rssi", "channel", "last_known_client_ip" and "event_type security_result.summary Mapped from changelog
pid target.process.pid Mapped from changelog
app_name target.application Mapped from changelog

Change Log

View the Change Log for this parser

Need more help? Get answers from Community members and Google SecOps professionals.